Several months ago had blowout on drivers front of my 1997 Dodge Ram 1500. lil while later Gen lite came on(battery light on dash) & battery started going dead. I’ve replaced the plugs & wires, starter, alternator, battery, & yes even the ECC. The Gen lite has never gone off. Drove for 2 or 3 days w/no prob. left this morning drove maybe 5 miles & battery went completely dead.

RESPONSE

Anytime the battery indicator light comes on it means the battery is not being charged. Either the alternator is bad, the alternator is not hooked up correctly or some wiring in between the battery and alternator is at fault. This is of course assuming the alternator belt is still there.

What could cause all the warning lights to come on and off along with the gauges for rpm and mph ?

RESPONSE

When the engine dies this occurs or the engines computer loses power for a moment such as an intermittent open circuit.

Dodge Warning Lights on Dash

Testing the operation of the warning lights on your dash is easy. All you need to do is turn the ignition key to the “ON” position and they should illuminate. Generally the lights will only illuminate when there is an issue that needs some attention. However, when the check engine light is flashing, the engine should be turned off as soon as possible to ensure no internal engine damage has occurred. A steady light is fine and driving will not cause damage.

The headlights on my 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 are causing problems. The headlights have been going out just about every morning for about 10 seconds. About fifteen miles into my commute. Then they come back on and seem fine. The other day when it was real cold, they wouldn’t come on at all. The next day they were fine.

RESPONSE

This is a classic description of an intermittent open connection. This can be caused by a loose connection, rusty or corroded connection or a break in the wiring harness. Looking at the wiring diagram I can see there is no relay for the headlights and should make it easier to narrow down. Start by checking the connections. You may also want to perform the “wiggle test” on the wiring.

1997 Dodge Ram 1500 headlight wiring diagram

My late husband drove my 1996 Dodge Stratus for a good two weeks while it was overheating, just adding water as needed. We have changed, spark plugs(due to oil being in the holes), valve cover gasket, coil pack, cam shaft sensor, oxygen sensor, mass air flow sensor, & the oil pressure sensor. Hooked it up to a code reader after all were replaced & it is not giving any codes now, but still will not start. It acts like it wants to but will not fire over. We were having issue not getting spark from 2&3 plugs as well, not sure if that is fixed.. Wondering what the next step would be? I have had a suggestion that it could be timing off or timing belt, possibly warped head or bent valves as well. Where to begin?

RESPONSE

Assuming the car did not start to begin with, if it did you may need to re-check your work. As with any no start situation it is necessary to determine what is missing. Once you know what the engine is not getting you can dig deeper into that particular area and repair as needed. For my money I would double check the spark plug gap(they can get smashed together if dropped) on all spark plugs and confirm spark. Then I would see if some starting fluid sprayed into the air filter would allow the engine to start. If not, I would move to the compression test. Loss of compression can be from a blown head gasket caused by overheating or a broken timing belt.

What an Engine Needs to run

Driving my Dodge Neon and all of a sudden it dies… not getting any fire to the coil pack so I put a new one in that’s wasn’t the problem.. the gauges work but the speedometer does sometimes the rest works fine cause I was thinking it might be the icm… or the cps but idk how those go out need help asp got me stuck in a bad situation

RESPONSE

Many times spark and fuel are missing at the same time. This can be caused from a faulty crank position sensor and failed PCM fuse. Make sure you are getting injector pulse before making that ruling. If all you suffer from is lack of spark, then stay the course.

Dodge Neon

My 2012 Dodge Avenger problems with the HVAC system. The heater is warm on drivers side, but blowing cold air on passenger side??

RESPONSE

2012 Dodge Avenger SXT

A couple of thoughts come to mind right off. First, if anyone has been messing about under the dash something may have been knocked loose. An aftermarket stereo installation would be a great place to start looking. An air duct may have been taken loose, etc.
Second thought would be a failed blend door actuator. Actuator failure is a common cause for this.

2012 Dodge Avenger blend door actuator

The blend door actuator is connected to the A/C-heater control through the vehicle electrical system by a dedicated two-wire lead and connector of the instrument panel wire harness. The blend door actuator can move the blend-air door in two directions.

The blend door actuator (1) for the heating-A/C system is a reversible, 12-volt Direct Current (DC) servo motor, which is mechanically connected to the blend-air door. The blend door actuator is located on the left side of the HVAC air distribution housing.

The blend door actuator is interchangeable with the actuator for the mode-air doors and the recirculation-air door. Each actuator is contained within an identical black molded plastic housing with an integral wire connector receptacle (2). Each actuator also has an identical output shaft (3) with splines that connect it to its respective door linkage and integral mounting tabs (4) that allow the actuator to be secured to the HVAC housing. The blend door actuator does not require mechanical indexing to the blend-air door, as it is electronically calibrated by the A/C-heater control.

2012 Dodge Avenger Recalls

2012 Dodge Avenger Electrical System Recall 13V282000

Summary: Chrysler is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 sebring and 200 vehicles manufactured june 28, 2011, through december 13, 2012; model year 2011-2013 dodge avenger vehicles manufactured june 25, 2011, through january 14, 2013; model year 2011-2012 dodge nitro vehicles manufactured june 17, 2011, through december 15, 2011; and model year 2011-2012 jeep liberty vehicles manufactured june 17, 2011, through august 15, 2012. Electrical over-stress of a resistor in the occupant restraint control module may lead to the non-deployment of the active head restraints during a rear impact collision.Consequence: In the event of aContinue reading »